Fri, 10/12/2010 - 06:52 by Prince damin
Chicago -- Wheat and oat futures trended higher Thursday on the Chicago Board of Trade with the dollar index flat, climbing just 0.05 percent.
Corn was off 1/4 to up 3/4, soybeans were off 14 1/2 to off 15 3/4, wheat was up 4 1/2 to up 7 3/4 and oats were up 4 to up 16.
Corn prices were little changed with sellers taking advantage of Wednesday's rally and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announcing Mexico's purchase of 240,000 metric tons. Wheat futures found support with Iraq purchasing 250,000 metric tons from U.S. sources. Soybean prices fell as China is expected to try to delay deliveries of some of its recent purchases.
The prices:
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Fri, 10/12/2010 - 06:51 by Prince damin
New York -- Gold prices held steady Thursday in New York as equities were mixed and the dollar turned flat after three days of increases.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 2.42 points or 0.02 percent. The Standard & Poor's index climbed modestly, adding 4.72 points or 0.38 percent to 1,233.00.
The dollar index rose 0.08 percent, a relatively flat performance, but one that comes after gains of 0.5 percent Tuesday and 0.17 percent Wednesday.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gold added $3.10 to $1,386.30 per troy ounce. Crude oil prices for January delivery added 17 cents to $88.45 per barrel.
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Fri, 10/12/2010 - 06:48 by Prince damin
Frankfurt, Germany -- The European Central Bank said Thursday banks in Europe remain vulnerable due to sovereign debt issues, but they are healthier than six months ago.
In a biannual report on Europe's banks, the ECB said, "The overall economic and financial situation is still fraught with risks for financial stability.
"The main source of concern stems from the interplay between sovereign debt problems and vulnerabilities in segments of the euro area banking sector," the central bank said.
Economic growth, however, "is expected to further strengthen its (the banking sector's) resilience and profitability in the period ahead," the ECB said.
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Fri, 10/12/2010 - 06:38 by Prince damin
New York -- Chinese companies are proving they can hold their own in U.S. markets this year, recent public offerings have shown.
Youku, an online streaming company, has yet to make a profit, but its shares surged 146.5 percent on the New York Stock Exchange after its initial listing this week, The Financial Times reported Thursday.
Consider the company the equivalent of a Chinese Netflix, The Financial Times said.
Shares of Dangdang, an Internet bookseller, rose 77.4 percent after its initial public offering, share prices jumping to $28.39 per share from a starting range between $13 and $15.
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Fri, 10/12/2010 - 06:33 by Prince damin
Washington -- Average interest rates for long-term mortgages rose for the fourth consecutive week, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.
The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 4.46 percent to 4.61 percent with 0.7 points. Average interest rates for 15-year contracts rose from 3.81 percent to 3.96 percent with 0.7 points, Freddie Mac said.
Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages a year ago stood at 4.32 percent. Rates for 30-year mortgages a year ago averaged 4.81 percent.
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Fri, 10/12/2010 - 06:22 by Prince damin
New York -- U.S. markets opened mixed Thursday after the U.S. Department of Labor reported first-time jobless claims fell by 17,000 in the week ending Dec. 4.
As expected, the Bank of England left its overnight lending rate unchanged at 0.5 percent Thursday. The leading index in Britain rose 0.4 percent in October, the Conference Board said.
In most of Asia and Europe markets rose. The dollar index, a pro-rated measure of the greenback against six major currencies, rose 0.32 percent to 80.26, climbing for the third consecutive trading session.
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Fri, 10/12/2010 - 06:13 by Prince damin
Ottawa -- Home prices in Canada rose 0.1 percent in October, half the rate of increases in the previous month, Statistics Canada said Thursday.
Prices in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, rose the most, 0.8 percent. In Greater Sudbury and Thunder Bay, Ontario, prices rose 0.5 percent, the government's statistical office said.
Prices fell furthest in Calgary, Alberta, dropping 0.6 percent. In nine of 21 cities surveyed, prices were unchanged in the month.
In the past 12 months, Regina, Saskatchewan, has the greatest price growth with the home price index rising 0.6 percent.
Five cities in the past 12 months registered price declines:
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Thu, 09/12/2010 - 09:55 by Prince damin
Chicago -- Grain futures closed higher on the Chicago Board of Trade Wednesday with the dollar index up 0.16 percent.
Corn was up 23 1/4 to up 13 1/4, soybeans were up 10 1/2 to up 11 1/4, wheat was off 1 to up 3 and oats were off 5 to up 14.
Corn prices rose sharply with the weekly ethanol report showing a 6.1 percent rise in production from the previous week -- up 19.2 percent from a year ago. Wheat futures found support from Australia, where weather conditions in the southeast are expected to drop up to 60 percent of the crop in the region to feed status. Soybeans found support as sellers focus on end-of-year targets and weather conditions in Brazil and Argentina, where beneficial rain is expected.
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Thu, 09/12/2010 - 09:54 by Prince damin
New York -- Crude oil prices held steady on the New York Mercantile Exchange overnight with equities mixed in Asia and Europe and the dollar index up 0.25 percent.
Traders are waiting for an afternoon report on U.S. energy stockpiles and keeping an eye on weather reports that presume a seasonal increase in a demand for heating oil.
January delivery light, sweet crude oil in New York added 2 cents overnight to $88.71 per barrel. Heating oil prices rose 0.38 cents to $2.474 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline blendstock prices lost 0.2 cents to $2.321 per gallon.
Henry Hub natural gas prices added 15.9 cents to $4.552 per million British thermal units.
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Thu, 09/12/2010 - 09:50 by Prince damin
New York -- U.S. markets mustered few gains Wednesday with the dollar index extending its rise into the second trading session, climbing 0.18 percent to 80.
The dollar's gain weighed on commodities and U.S. firms that rely on exports. With no major reports on the U.S. economic calendar, Germany reported its trade surplus grew from $16.5 billion in October 2009 to $18.8 billion in October 2010.
The surplus is a reminder of the struggles of the euro, which is shared by countries with economies in decline, such as Greece and Ireland, and countries where an economic recovery has found traction, such as Germany and France.
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Thu, 09/12/2010 - 09:47 by Prince damin
New York -- Gold prices fell sharply Wednesday in New York, losing $26.10 or 1.8 percent, as equities scratched out slim gains and the dollar continued to rise.
The Dow Jones industrial average held its ground, adding 13.32 points or 0.12 percent. The Standard & Poor's index fared slightly better, gaining 0.37 percent, 4.53, to 1,228.28.
The dollar index, which rose 0.5 percent in the previous trading session, rose 0.17 percent Wednesday.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gold dropped to $1,382.60 per troy ounce. Crude oil prices for January delivery lost 12 cents to $88.57 per barrel.
The euro fell to $1.3262 from Monday's $1.3274. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 84.02 yen from Monday's 82.66 yen.
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Thu, 09/12/2010 - 08:29 by Prince damin
Washington -- U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 3.8 million barrels in the week ending Dec. 3, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.
The agency said in the weekly report that crude inventories dropped to 355.9 million barrels during the week, with supplies remaining above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year.
Gasoline inventories rose by the same 3.8 million barrels to 214 million barrels and are near the upper limit of the average range for this time of year.
Supplies of distillate fuels, which include heating oil, rose by 2.2 million barrels to 160.2 million barrels.
Inventories of finished gasoline and gasoline blending components rose during the week, the energy agency reported.
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